Comfort & Joy and Calamus are bringing you Queericulum on Saturday April 18th from 11am till 9pm, and FRESH TOUCH is the after party the same night!

What is Queericulum? An all-day, luxurious, homocentered educational urban retreat. Fag-centered playshops in the daytime: physical, cerebral, historic, community building, intimate, physical, artistic, and more. With options to chill, create, and play all day. The evening brings a communal dinner with talent and performances. Check out www.playajoy.org/queericulum to see previous years’ events.

How can you get involved?

This educational celebration is a community-built event, from the work of people just like you. You can share your wisdom or support this event with hands on help.

What would you like to learn?

What would you like to see your community learn?

What knowledge can you share?

There are many ways to plug in:

Host a Playshop: edgy, queer, academic, physical, historical, emotional, sensual, sexual, artistic…. take this opportunity to market those skills, promote yourself girlShare Your Craft Skills at the super-popular craft partyVolunteer for a 90-120 minute shift at the bar, coat check, or door.Lead a volunteer area (e.g. bar, coat check, door)Cook and Serve Dinner for our communal dinner.Contribute your vision – new ideas welcome Flaunt your TALENT – during the dinner time showCross Pollinate – connect us with organizations that should be included.Publicize and InviteRaise Funds For Your Cause – we’re open to collaborating with other groups

We are still recruiting for playshop leaders. What wisdom can you share? To get involved, send an email to the headmaster: digger at playajoy dot org and tell me what interests you.

Bay Area Reporter ‘s readers’ poll is on to name the readers’ top choices of LGBT Best of the Bay in various categories.

We are proud to inform you Comfort & Joy is nominated Best Nightlife Event (Non-Weekly/Monthly). Our off-playa TOUCH parties and a more elaborate AFTERGLOW events have definitely created an alternative nightlife scene that has captured the hearts of many. This cannot happen without the vision of our dedicated leaders, creative expression of many artists and passionate volunteers like you. And most of all, it is the support that we get from YOU that makes our fundraising events special.

So give yourselves a pat on the bottom for such fabulosity and vote for Comfort & Joy as Best Nightlife Event (Non Weekly/Monthly). The ONLINE BALLOT deadline is midnight February 28.

There are a few notable members in our immediate community and collaborators we have partnered with who are also nominated in other Besties category. They glitterdone and worthy of much glitters. So, vote for them too…

Best Male DJ – DJ Justime (currator and sound lead of many C&J events on and off-playa), DJ Bus Station John (‘Disco Daddy’ at various TOUCH parties)

Best DJ Duo/Group -BAAAHS, Go Bang, Honeysound System. This is a tough call. These are amazing DJs we have the pleasure to work with and had great times creating together. We would vote for all three, but alas, can only choose one. So choose wisely.

Best Patio – Cafe Flore (great day and night time space in an intersection we are all familiar with in the Castrohood)

Oh snap! Just as 2014 dust was about to settle, the 2015 whiteout is already here. Are you ready to return for the Carnival of Mirrors? Are you eager to jump into the giant sandbox for the first time? First thing first, let’s get the ticket situation sorted. As we all know, these prized tickets are elusive until you get them in your hands. Now, let’s get radically self-reliant and get down to it.

Some basic facts and important reminders on tickets…

Pre-Sales tickets has passed and gone. Oh, well…

Directed Group Sales tickets is completed earlier this week. We are glad to report that we have secured enough tickets for organizing members of Comfort & Joy, which means we will have the bright neon beacon of the gayborhood, the C&J Village, returning to the playa. Glitterdone!

For more information about the Individual Sale, please read through the FAQ.

Low Income Ticket <<<=== COMING UP

Application opens Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Apply early if you’d like to be considered for low income ticket.

If you don’t get a ticket via the individual sales or the low income ticket, there are two other opportunities to secure your entry into the dust – the STEP program and the OMG sales. We’ll worry about that later. For more information, READ HERE.

Let Comfort & Joy tantalize you in an entirely new way as we twirl, trick and transform a legendary underground space in the heart of the city. Bring a Valentine to TOUCH Temptation, or find one there! Party starts at 10pm and ends at 6am! Wooo! Please get your tickets soon, space is limited.

TOUCH SOLSTICE 2014 A FEAST FOR THE SENSES

December 20th, 2014, 8pm-4am

We take advantage of the longest night of the year to bring you an 8 hour party that will awaken all five of your senses…

TASTE

Enjoy a nourishing buffet of food that will satiate your belly and your soul,
while having a kiki with your kindred spirits. Your delicious food will be provided by Blitzy (who just launched a vegetarian food delivery service, Green Tiffin), Beonda and Zac.

SEE

There will be sparkling entertainment during dinner, including: Brontez Purnell reading from his book “The Cruising Diaries”; Miss Rahni performing numbers from her acclaimed one-woman show “My Book, Vol. 1″; and queer comedian Sampson, who’s comedy albums include “Don’t Make Me Take Off My Earrings” and “That Bitch Better Be Funny”.

A performative ritual to highlight the power we tap into at this annual turning point, lead by Kevin, Zac, and Max.

The ritual will be followed by a show hosted by Ultra featuring some of your favorite and thought-provoking queens, including Effervescence Jackson, Mama Dora, Mandala, Shakey Gibson, Vivi The Force, Trangela Lansbery, Amanda Love, Samuel Kehl, Dakota Pendant, Alabama Slamma and Beonda.

HEAR

Exhilarating music mixed together by talented DJs
ON the main dancefloor, we are featuring Sergio Fedasz & Steve Fabus of GoBang!, as well as Robin Malone Simmons of Odyssey.

In our more intimate playspace lounge, we have the sexy stylings of Justime of Digital Wildlife and Collin Bass

SMELL

The intoxicating scent of hundreds of beautiful creatures,
coming together to celebrate the return of the sun.

Are you interested in developing your beefcake photography skills? Consider attending this October 4th hands on workshop on Studio Photography of the Male Nude in San Francisco.

This workshop is open to all abilities. Bring your own camera (DSLR preferred). Class is limited to 8 photographers. We will have multiple studio lighting setups and 4 hot/sexy models, so you will get lets of time behind the camera.

Arrive at 11 am for an hour class on use of studio lighting, and basic photography. More advanced photographers are free to arrive at noon and focus on actual shooting.

Workshop Instructor Dot (aka Tom Schmidt) has published several books of photography, including “The Classic Beauty of Male Escorts in San Francisco”, “Sons of God”, and “Comfort and Joy”. His work has been exhibited in San Francisco and around the Bay Area.

The hot Playa topic this year is all about Plug and Play camps and the controversy surrounding the loopholes they find to be able to run profitable business behind their private walls while on the Playa. As someone who appreciates a challenge and a good story got share, I felt fortunate that I was able to be an employee working in one of these. Yes, I was a sherpa for a camp put in place by one of the members on the board of directors for Burning Man.

To avoid any possible issues surrounding my story, I’m going to go ahead and just use different names for everyone involved and the exact title of camps I am talking about. My intention is not to hurt any individual’s reputation. I will just share my experience of something that I personally believe is a true example of how someone could actually do it wrong at Burning Man.